Book Review

Introduction

The following introduction is as provided by Tankograd Publishing;
The FV214 Conqueror heavy gun tank was developed and fielded by the British Army in the early years of the Cold War to counter the threat caused by Soviet heavy tanks such as the IS-3 and the T-10. If the Cold War had turned hot, the Conqueror would have served as a tank destroyer to knock out enemy armour at a range superior to that of the Centurion main battle tanks.

This publication describes the development history, the technology, variants and the only eight yearlong in-service life of the Conqueror heavy gun tank. Also covered is the Conqueror armoured recovery vehicle.

Review

With the release of Conqueror models by Dragon Models in 1/35th scale there is a fair amount of interest in this British heavy tank. Tankograd Publishing has released a title that covers the Conqueror in better detail than I thought possible for a book of this size. The text in this book is the usual dual language offering of German and English, German on the right of the page and English on the left.

The text section of this book covers 16 pages and provides a great deal of information on the conqueror, but also the developments that lead to the Conqueror in the first place. Of all the smaller titles I have read from Tankograd Publishing, this offering is the one I enjoyed the most and gained the most from. The sections in the book as regards text break down as follows;
WW2 British Tanks
A45
The requirement for a heavy tank
FV221 Caernarvon medium gun tank
FV4004 Conway
Conqueror prototypes and troop trial vehicles
FV214 Conqueror Mk 1 and 2
British Army of the Rhine Troop Trials
Loader fatigue trial
FV214 Conqueror series production
FV214 Mk2 Heavy gun tank technology
Hull
Driverís compartment
Engine and transmission
Steering and brakes
Running gear
Electrical system
Turret
Armament
Main gun
Fire control turret and commanders fire control equipment
Ammunition
Engaging a target
Other systems
Conqueror family vehicles
Conqueror armoured recovery vehicles
In service
A short service life
Now obviously due to the number of available pages the text has to be concise, but it gave me insights into the Conqueror that I found of interest.

The photographs and illustrations are of a good standard for the most part, but some of the colour photographs do suffer from the weaknesses of photography of the time. The pictorial content breaks down as 12 colour photographs, 94 black and white photographs and 17 graphics. The photographic sections break down as follows;
The opponent IS-3
FV201 Universal tank
FV221 Caernarvon
FV4005 Self-propelled heavy anti-tank gun No 1
Conqueror prototypes
Gas turbine engine powered Conqueror
Conqueror in colour
FV214 Conqueror Mk 1 heavy gun tank
User handbook for tank, heavy gun, Conqueror Mk 1 and 2 1958, WO Code number 12065
FV214 Conqueror Mk 2 Heavy Gun Tank
FV214 Conqueror Mk 2 Heavy gun tank low IR signature exhaust
FV214 Conqueror heavy gun tank in service
FV219 Conqueror ARV Mk 1
FV222 Conqueror ARV Mk 2
I found the technical drawings of the most help detail wise as they provide clarity to areas that would not normally be so.

Conclusion

If you have a Conqueror model sitting in your stash and you want to add the finer detail you will be hard pushed to find a better title for the money. The text section offers a surprisingly good amount of information for the small number of pages. The photographs offer the opportunity to lift the Dragon Model offering to a better standard while remaining affordable.

SUMMARY

Highs: A very good mix of written and pictorial reference and information results in great and affordable reference material.Lows: The colour photographs suffer from weaknesses of photography standards of the time.Verdict: Well worth picking up if you have a Conqueror in your future.

I have been building model kits since the early 70ís starting with Airfix kits of mostly aircraft, then progressing to the point I am at now building predominantly armour kits from all countries and time periods. Living in the middle of Salisbury plain since the 70ís, I have had lots of opportunitie...

Comments

Thanks for the review Darren, that's another item to put on my shopping list.
A few years back I worked on the ARV Mk.2 'Persuader' at the IWM Duxford, I believe it has been left in a corner now with no work being done on it, real shame.